Additional typing

The next you hear from the ABMDR

The most important thing you can do to continue providing the best possible chance to patients in need is to make sure you let the ABMDR know how to contact you if you move – it’s possible for someone to stay on the registry for 42 years, that’s a long time to keep track of people.

If you want to change your contact details, please go to the “Change your details section”.

If you do hear from the ABMDR, the next communication will probably be a test for additional typing. Tissue typing is a constantly evolving field and there are many different areas (loci) that affect your tissue typing and doctors may need to know about additional loci when selecting the best match for their patient. So the most likely course of events is that after you are identified as a possible match on the database the transplant centre doctor will request additional typing for you. Sometimes we will have retained a sample from you in the lab, in which case you will not be contacted, otherwise we will need to ask you to come in and have another blood sample taken. At this stage you will probably be one of a few donors who have been asked for additional samples, so it is still only a possibility you will be asked to donate.

You will be asked for:

A sample of your blood (10 – 20 mL)

A consent form to be completed for the additional typing

Another kind of testing that may be asked of you is “confirmatory typing”. To ensure that everything is “double-checked” we will repeat your tissue typing (this is often done in a different laboratory) to confirm that the typing done previously is absolutely correct. In this case a new sample will definitely be needed. If you have been asked for confirmatory typing samples, it is now likely that you are a very good match with the patient and a transplant should be considered a strong possibility.

You will be asked for:

A sample of your blood (up to 50 mL)

A consent form to be completed for the confirmatory typing

A donor health questionnaire to be completed

A consent form identifying that you have read and understood information given to you regarding the possible donation.

The ABMDR donor coordinator will contact you to help arrange the appointments to collect the samples and complete the paperwork. The donor coordinator will also arrange an information session, either by telephone or in person. The information given to you will cover the stem cell harvest and what you can expect.

Please think through any concerns or questions you have at this time. It is much better for everyone if you discuss the issues before proceeding further. As a volunteer donor you have the right to withdraw at any time, though it is best to do this as early as possible.

Blood samples taken at confirmatory typing will be sent to an appropriate laboratory where they are subject to histocompatibility testing, testing for infectious disease markers and other relevant analyses.